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Festing Frenzy!
Quick update, as I intend to come up with an in-depth review (wow, those two things usually aren't found together here! =) some time in the coming week (to six months... if the record stands!)
Ogans - they caught our attention early on and we watched a couple of soundcheck songs. Swung by later on to catch most of their first set, but, due to me misremembering what time PFA came on, we missed out on their second set.
Cast In Bronze caught one of his sets after Ogans soundcheck, and one tune - the Carol of the Bells - out of another set after the Ogans performance.
Philadelphia Funk Authority. Excellent. Sat off of stage right so Justin could clearly see the horn section (most of the time; passing traffic or pausing traffic in the aisle between us and the stage caused some difficulty). The guy sitting next to us was there to watch the keyboard player - he plays keys & trumpet in a Blues Brothers tribute band. Go see PFA if you can, or, alternately, pay them to come play for you!
Although the gathering yesterday wasn't music-centric in the original intentions, it certainly became so after we ate. Inside and throughout the day, the music of PFA, the Blues Brothers, the Muppets from Space soundtrack (i.e. James Brown, George Clinton, and so on), and Martha Redbone played. After the meal was done, though, it was quickly decided that some music would now happen. I borrowed Deb's bass, Justin grabbed his trumpet, and Chris had his alto sax and we debated upon the merits of performing indoors in air conditioning or out on the front porch in the heat.
After a little bit of prep time, we set out to actually Play Something, and it was Good. Funk University (that's Funk U, for short) was thus formed. We're going to get a singing group to work with us, and we'll name them And The Horse You Rode In On. =)
Okay, so it's just a working name right now, but the possibility of us playing out at little jazz gigs here and there under some more sensible, but less entertaining, alias does exist. We've got a whole 30 seconds of original music written!
Rachel joined us on the clarinet - and, for 3 weeks of training followed by 2 weeks of vacation, she kept up with the seasoned pros. Ummm, that would be us. Rachel and Chris still need nicknames. I'm Lefty, on account of being right-handed, playing a right-handed bass that is strung lefty. Justin is Valdez, on account of a sticking valve that used more oil than spilled into Prince William Sound.
Anyway, we've got a nice slinky bass line that I mostly play over and over so the horns can get their timing down, but it opens itself up to a lot of variations which I'll toss in as we go. We've got four and a half sets of horn parts that run back and forth over the bass line. The tune is written out as it stands so far, so we'll work on ideas and get together in part over the next few weeks, and then in full as soon as Justin gets back from vacation.
We need a percussionist.
Ogans - they caught our attention early on and we watched a couple of soundcheck songs. Swung by later on to catch most of their first set, but, due to me misremembering what time PFA came on, we missed out on their second set.
Cast In Bronze caught one of his sets after Ogans soundcheck, and one tune - the Carol of the Bells - out of another set after the Ogans performance.
Philadelphia Funk Authority. Excellent. Sat off of stage right so Justin could clearly see the horn section (most of the time; passing traffic or pausing traffic in the aisle between us and the stage caused some difficulty). The guy sitting next to us was there to watch the keyboard player - he plays keys & trumpet in a Blues Brothers tribute band. Go see PFA if you can, or, alternately, pay them to come play for you!
Although the gathering yesterday wasn't music-centric in the original intentions, it certainly became so after we ate. Inside and throughout the day, the music of PFA, the Blues Brothers, the Muppets from Space soundtrack (i.e. James Brown, George Clinton, and so on), and Martha Redbone played. After the meal was done, though, it was quickly decided that some music would now happen. I borrowed Deb's bass, Justin grabbed his trumpet, and Chris had his alto sax and we debated upon the merits of performing indoors in air conditioning or out on the front porch in the heat.
After a little bit of prep time, we set out to actually Play Something, and it was Good. Funk University (that's Funk U, for short) was thus formed. We're going to get a singing group to work with us, and we'll name them And The Horse You Rode In On. =)
Okay, so it's just a working name right now, but the possibility of us playing out at little jazz gigs here and there under some more sensible, but less entertaining, alias does exist. We've got a whole 30 seconds of original music written!
Rachel joined us on the clarinet - and, for 3 weeks of training followed by 2 weeks of vacation, she kept up with the seasoned pros. Ummm, that would be us. Rachel and Chris still need nicknames. I'm Lefty, on account of being right-handed, playing a right-handed bass that is strung lefty. Justin is Valdez, on account of a sticking valve that used more oil than spilled into Prince William Sound.
Anyway, we've got a nice slinky bass line that I mostly play over and over so the horns can get their timing down, but it opens itself up to a lot of variations which I'll toss in as we go. We've got four and a half sets of horn parts that run back and forth over the bass line. The tune is written out as it stands so far, so we'll work on ideas and get together in part over the next few weeks, and then in full as soon as Justin gets back from vacation.
We need a percussionist.